Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leaders have started intense lobbying for Assembly seats with the AICC beginning to prepare a list of winnable candidates for the 2016 Assembly elections. Allies have decided to exchange a few seats like Nemom, which the JD (S) wants to swap with the Congress for Kovalam.
KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran is also expected to be in the race. The KPCC is upbeat about the party coming back to power in the imminent civic polls, but a majority of the leaders are eyeing Assembly seats.
They have shot off emails to AICC explaining reasons why they are the best bet for some constituencies. A top Congress source said Rufus Daniel, JD (S) leader and Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat vice-president would be fielded from Kovalam. He was president of the Venganoor panchayat in the constituency. He had contested from Kovalam during the 2006 Assembly elections too.
“KPCC general secretary Thampanoor Ravi had eyed Aruvikkara. But none expected early demise of G. Karthikeyan. But this time, Mr. Ravi is actively lobbying for Vamanapuram, which has got a sizable Nair population,” he said.
Johnson Abraham, who has been recently promoted as treasurer, is likely to be fielded from Kuttanad. Mr. Abraham, an Alappuzha native, is known to be very close to Mr. Sudheeran, who himself is slated to be fielded as a ‘compromise’ candidate from his hometown in Thrissur. Another KPCC general secretary B. Babu Prasad, who had stepped aside for home minister Ramesh Chennithala in the 2009 Assembly elections, would get a ‘winnable’ seat.
A top KPCC leader told DC that though lobbying had already started, senior Congress leader A. K. Antony would call the shots. He would be holding talks with the trio, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Mr Sudheeran and Mr Chennithala.
“What is happening right now is only preliminary lobbying among the KPCC leaders. The AICC leadership would conduct a survey like they did last time,” said a KPCC leader.
